Monday, September 8, 2008

This is a follow-up recipe to my veggie lunch meat. When I made the original recipe I did not try to make it taste like any specific meat since I have found that texture is often more important in a sandwich. This time, though, I attempted a smoked turkey/chicken type meat and the end result was met with great acclaim by the whole family. A few caveats though: 1. All I had on hand was Mori-Nu tofu; I'm not sure if this makes a big difference. 2. Not all liquid smoke is equal. I have gone with the cheap stuff before and it is pretty nasty.

METHODGet water steaming in your steamer. You will need a large steamer.1. Place all ingredients except the gluten flour in a blender and process until very smooth. Pour into a bowl. Add gluten flour and work into a dough. Knead for a few mins to let gluten develop.2. Shape dough into a log and wrap in heavy duty foil like a tootsie roll. Try to make the roll as thick as possible. Steam for 1 hour.3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees in the last 15 mins of steaming. Remove seitan from steamer and bake for 40-50 mins. Seitan should swell and press against the foil.4. Cool and slice as needed for sandwiches. This seitan holds up very well and can be shaved very thin. Store in the fridge or freezer. This recipe makes a lot, so you can cut it into 3 or four chunks and store them away for later.

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comments:

i can't wait to try this!! my boy is finally going back to school...so i will be making twice the lunches now. he won't eat legumes, so getting protein into him (other than cheese) is getting kind of difficult. i have a feeling this will be a hit with the husband, too!

First! Sorry, I couldn't help myself. The 12 year old boy in me just thinks that's hilarious. I have two questions about this recipe, which looks amazing. I can't wait to try it. 1 - Why do you steam it in foil? Could you steam it without the foil or would it fall apart. 2 - How do you get such nice, thin slices??

What brand of liquid smoke do you like? I rarely have Bragg's on hand, but could be persuaded to buy it - do you think it makes a difference here? Your first lunchmeat recipe was great, so I am looking forward to this variation.

Funny that you just posted this. I just made your original lunch meat recipe last week. It made tons, so I improvised a bit. One night I made an Asian stir fry with broccoli, garlic and ginger sauce with it cut into chunks. The next night I made a brown mushroom gravy and served it with potatoes. I thought it would make a great Thanksgiving turkey roast as well with some tweaking. Thanks for the great ideas and now I have to hunt around to find some liquid smoke. I had a really, really hard time finding it in NYC if you can believe it!

Yea! More gluten lunch slices. I have a son who loves to eat sandwiches and the bigger the batch the better. I will be making this very very soon. Thanks for the great recipes and insight. Pam in Green Bay, WI

Heather D,I have steamed seitan in cheesecloth, but have had better luck with foil. It keeps the seitan from getting too moist, and when the seitan expands in the heat, the foil does not expand with it, making for a firm and denser fake meat.

john, I use a brand called "Woodland." As for Braggs, I was just going for more depth of flavour and I like the way Bragg's complements the so without darkening the seitan too much.

brittney,The key is a very sharp knife and some patience. You can also partially freeze the seitan and then slice it--this results in some very thin slices.

emily,I would guess half the time if the seitan log is half the circumference.

I can't wait to try this. The kids have been running though the tofurkey slices like there is no tomorrow, lately. Isaac wants mayo (your recipe btw) tofurkey and cucumber. Ramsey wants tofurkey and earth balance.

About the mayo. The first time I made it I used plain soymilk but not unsweetened. It was way to sweet for me. Next time I used unsweetend and it was awesome. All the nonvegans loved it, too. Tastes better then Veganaise.

made this last night. the only thing i didn't add was the Braggs (cuz i don't have any). consensus was mixed, but not bad. husband thinks it's a little bland and too rubbery. i sort of agree, but still thought it was tasty. the boy really likes it just the way it is. and the dog LOVES it. (anyone know if gluten is bad for dogs??)

i'm hoping if i buy some Braggs it will add a little oomph to the flavor. any hints on making it maybe less rubbery??

Hello! I'm newly vegan and recently stumbled upon your blog. I love it, and I can't wait to try the fake meats. However, I'm a college student and sometimes lack the kitchen appliances or utensils. Is there a way to do this if you don't have a steamer?

chaos mom,I think the culprit might be the silken tofu. I have amended the recipe since I notice that Bryanna advises not to use silken tofu in seitan. You can also jack up the spices here to your liking.

boston,you can bake the seitan for about twice as long and skip the steaming. I find it makes it a wee bit drier, but it still works.

I am planning on making this this weekend. (Wait, that sentence sounded OK in my head...)

Anyway, I'll post back about the results... sounds GOOD.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the liquid smoke from http://www.colgin.com/public/ (Not trying to spam your comments, I swear I don't work for them or anything, just trying to provide a resource for those who can't find it)

I had to make this twice, the first time didn't turn out. The bits of tofu never really became smooth, they just stayed as bits. I think I would blend it smooth before adding the additional wet ingredients or use firm silken tofu next time. I don't have a steamer large enough for this recipe, so I wrapped it in foil and put it on a rack in my crockpot with some boiling water in the bottom for 4 hours on high. It cooked great, but the bits of tofu looked unappetizing. :( The second time I made it, I left out the tofu and added 1/3 cup soybean flour instead. Worked great and I didn't need to cut back on any liquids. If you're doing it in the crockpot, remember to turn the loaf halfway through. I didn't because I was asleep, and the bottom of my loaf isn't browned like the top. Oh well, still tastes great!

I made this today for tofurky loving son. It was so easy. The texture is perfect but our taste buds must be dull. For us, it seems to need a lot more seasoning. I rescued this batch by simmering it in not-chicken broth for a few minutes. Great recipe. We love it!

I just made this and used everything you have listed. Everything went okay but when I took the seitan out of the oven, after cooling for about 30 minutes I noticed that it had collapsed out of it's log shape inside the foil. It still tastes like what I think it should, but is this normal? Any ideas on what caused it? Thanks!

Made this for a pot luck we had. I sliced the loaf into several 'split chicken breast' shapes, stuffed them with a vegan whole wheat/veggie/fruit dressing, breaded them with your wing breading and baked them til set; I placed them on the remaining stuffing and poured vegan gravy over top. Also took a batch of your mashed veggies Yummmm. Thanks for the turkey recipe! ...everything I've tried has been exceptional.

The lunchmeat is great. Yet it bothers me that I have to use so much foil now. Can you think of why it would not cook/steam ok in a wide mouth canning jar with lid and screw band? I think I will try it next time. My biggest concern is that it will stick, so maybe I will lightly oil the jar. I'll let you know if it works out.

ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!!! I am new to veganism. So I am learning and discovering new flavors and things daily. I made this tonight and it was not only EASY...it was absolutely delicious.

What I don't understand is that I was running out an buy this stuff in the stores premade for some much more. It is some much cheaper this way and I can create modifications to make it just like i want it. Thanks VeganDad!!

Vegan Dad,I made the original recipe this past week. I think I rolled it too small (the circumferance of a thick sausage?) and wrapped it with too much heavy duty foil. It never expanded much at all. Should the roll be more the size of an actual lunch meat? Or should I still keep the circumferance small and just use less foil and a less tight wrap? My family liked the taste and they are eager for me to improve on my initial efforts. I want to try this "chicken" version next.Blessings,~Toni~

Let me start off by saying that I love your blog/ I am a transistioning vegetarian to vegan and find your recipes not only delicious but easily acceptible to the vegan neophyte.

Now...my question. In all of your seitan recipes you call for a steamer, is this like a vegetable steamer, you know with the multiple layers, or is there some super secret seitan steamer that I am unaware of?

I haven't tried tasting mine yet, but the roll shrank somewhere during the baking/ post-baking stage, rather than getting bigger... is that supposed to happen? any idea what I should have done differently? I didn't have a steamer, so I put my colander over a pot of boiling water with the extra holes blocked off with foil and a lid on top. I think it worked OK. We'll try the results shortly...

Are you able to tell me please whether your "cup" is a metric or a US one? It makes a bit of a difference in conversion to deciliters, which is what I'd use, and a little difference makes a big one with seitan..

This look wonderful and super easy. One question though, can this be made the same way ( or a little bit different) with "Raw gluten"? I recently found a "Raw gluten" recipe and would like to try it out before the weekend. Thanks so much in advance!

I know this is an older post, so you may not get this, but I was wondering what kind of difference it would make if I left out the tofu, or subbed a thick mushroom puree... I can't have soy and have been looking desperately for soy free tofurky type deli slices. Your recipe is the closest I've seen, but still calls for tofu...

Thank you for this recipe! I subbed chickpeas for the tofu (cheaper where I live) and also added better than boullion no-chicken base to the water. This is awesome, so easy, and so much cheaper/better than the store-bought processed stuff. Hurray DIY Vegandad! :)

I know this is an old post, but I just had a chance to make this for the first time and have to say it's delicious! I love hickory smoked tofurky but hate all the packaging that goes along with it. This is an excellent and surprisingly easy alternative! It smelled amazing as I was kneading it, so I had no doubt it would be delicious - it is! Cooking time seems just right. Next time, I think I'll try to replace the tofu with pureed white beans as in your other lunchmeat recipe as I eat more than my fair share of soy already. Thanks for another great recipe!

I hope I don't sound dense, but I have a serious question. I would love to try the Hickory Smoked Veggie Turkey Lunchmeat but I have no idea what Bragg's is. The recipe calls for 1 tsp Bragg's. I even tried Googling it and found Bragg's Vinegar, Bragg's Liquid Smoke, Brags Nutritional Yeast... The list continued but I found nothing simply called Bragg's. Please tell me what it is so I can get it and try this recipe. My email address is: allestery2007@yahoo.com

Love all your recipes-thanks so much for all your effort!! It's very much appreciated. I'm so sorry for your loss as well.To answer a question from above, to my knowledge ( and I'm no expert!) vital wheat gluten and raw wheat gluten flour are the same thing. If your foil explodes it was closed a little too tightly.To check for spivey or bland flavors be sure to taste your seitan as you're kneading it. That way you can add more if you like. I doubled all the spices but NOT the smoke flavoring or the turmeric ( it can add a bitter flavor in larger amounts) I also added a 1/4 cup very finely diced jalapeños as I was kneading. You may want to start with a tap if your not sure about the spice level. It was awesome-Tex- mex lunch meat!!! Yay!! Thanks so much for the recipe-you take the scary out of seitan for me!